Road to development: UP in fast lane to becoming a $1 trillion economy

Uttar Pradesh's recent Global Investor Summit has given a glimpse in this direction, where it managed to mop up investment proposals worth Rs 33.5 trn; this further increased to Rs 36 trn

Uttar Pradesh (UP), which has always been among the most important, politically-agile and sensitive states in the country, is brimming with activities on the economic and industrial fronts. The Yogi Adityanath government has set a target of making UP a trillion-dollar state and serious efforts are being made in this direction.

A glimpse of it was seen during the recently-held Global Investor Summit (GIS) in which the state got investment proposals worth Rs 33.5 trillion and this has now further increased to Rs 36 trillion. There are reasons for investors to be enthusiastic about UP. The biggest airport of Asia is coming up at Dewar in Uttar Pradesh.

Besides mega projects like the freight corridor, a medical devices park, film city as well as toys and textiles parks are set to come up here.

Recently, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced that the defence corridor of UP will not have units manufacturing small parts. Instead, Brahmos missiles, drones and fighter planes will be made here.

The state has been attracting big projects in the information technology & electronics sector and is one of the fastest-growing states in the Innovation Index 2022 released by the NITI Aayog. In the Innovation Index, UP has progressed to seventh spot from the previous ninth position.

Growth and activity on the industrial front only takes place when there is a conducive atmosphere, better infrastructure and friendly policies in the state.

Ministers of the state government, officials, industrialists and investors, who attended the ‘Samriddhi’ programme, organised by Business Standard in Lucknow, agreed that UP has everything that is needed for investment. While inaugurating the Samriddhi programme, UP Assembly Speaker Satish Mahana stressed on the need for friendly policies and conducive atmosphere for investors in the state. He said that due to the conducive policies and safer environment, UP will soon become a trillion-dollar economy.

He added that UP is creating history on the development front and the BJP government is committed to the welfare of the 250 million people of this state. One can see the intention of the government in every sector, be it road, electricity, water, education, rail, buildings, urban civic amenities, villages or employment. Owing to this clear intention, investors across the world are being attracted towards UP. In the GlS held recently, big investors of the country and multi-national companies came on one platform to invest in UP. 

Mahana said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s target of making India a $5-trillion economy would be achieved on time and UP will make a major contribution in this.

The Assembly speaker called upon everyone to come together and work for the development of the state. He said that the elected government is responsible towards the people, who want development. He added that none can ignore the wishes of the people. Neither the legislative nor the executive member can ignore the wishes of the people. Both would have to work in tandem and accelerate the pace of development.

Deputy Chief Minister of UP Keshav Prasad Maurya, who was chief guest at the Samriddhi programme, cited the large number of investment proposals and MoUs, saying that like the country, UP is also seeing an industrial revolution. He said that earlier there used to be no investment in UP “but now, we are holding investor summits here and getting proposals worth several crores.” Maurya said that these investment proposals are not mere pieces of papers but the foundation of a bright future for UP. He said that now the state government is working hard to turn these investment proposals into reality.

In Uttar Pradesh, a lot has been done to improve infrastructure, especially on the roads front. This is the only state in the country where 13 expressway projects have either been completed or are under construction. By March 2023, 1,400 km-long expressways in UP have become functional. Terming this as a major achievement of the Yogi government, Maurya said that between 2017 and 2023, the highest number of expressways have been constructed in UP only. At present, most of the highways are in UP.

He said that very soon, UP would be the first state in the country to have five international airports. Soon also, the first national waterway would be operational in UP. He said if there is a facility of goods transportation through rail, road, air and waterways, the investment will come in large numbers.

Maurya said that very few states in the country have positive and good policies such as the single-window clearance and Nivesh Mitra portal. From the stage of Business Standard’s Samriddhi, he called upon the investors to come to UP and invest. He said that investors should make use of the facilities available in UP and set up their units here so that people may get employment.

Safe atmosphere is more important than infrastructure for any investors or industrialists. Investment comes only when law and order are maintained.

Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, while addressing the Samriddhi programme by Business Standard, said that the Adityanath government has transformed the law and order situation for both the people and investors. Barely a few years ago, UP was considered a dreaded place but this image has changed in the last six years. Now, no criminal is spared in UP. Gone are the days when traders and entrepreneurs in UP were facing extortion and loot. The law breakers in UP now get stringent punishment. There is no mining mafia in UP now, and due to this, the revenue coming from mining activity has registered a multi-fold rise.

Talking about basic infrastructure, Pathak said that UP was once known for roads being plunged into darkness but now every household is getting at least 18 hours power supply.

The kind of basic infrastructure for road, electricity and connectivity, as required by investors, is now available in UP. He said that expressways, rail routes and national waterways will not only help in smooth transportation of goods but also increase the flow of religious tourists. This would result in revenue and employment generation.

He said that every day, 200,000-300,000 devotees have been reaching Varanasi after the construction of the Kashi Vishwanath corridor. Similar is the situation in Ayodhya and Mathura where people are flocking in large numbers. This has been helping in the growth of trade and local employment.

He said that the chief minister’s special emphasis is on providing better health facilities to everyone. There are currently more than 3,500 primary and 950 community health centres in the state. Besides, medical colleges are being opened in every district of UP and seats have been raised. He said that there were only five nursing colleges in 2017 and the BJP government has opened 11 more such colleges. Now, the state government has decided to open one nursing college with every medical college.

Industrial Development Minister of UP, Nand Gopal Gupta Nandi, said that infrastructure and connectivity tops the agenda of the BJP state government. He said that when the BJP came to power in 2017, there were only two airports — Lucknow and Varanasi — in UP. Now, there are 16 airports in the state and very soon five international airports will become operational.

He said that 37 per cent of the network of expressways in India are in UP. And with the speed of work, very soon it will cross the 50-per cent mark. Nandi said that the previous government of UP had ignored the road and rail connectivity, which the BJP regime has addressed on a war-footing. This is one of the reasons why all the 75 districts in UP have received investment proposals in the GIS.

He said that many valuable suggestions would come in the Samriddhi programme of Business Standard. “We will include all those positive suggestions in our policies so that overall development of UP is ensured,” he said.

While speaking during the panel discussion on infrastructure at Samriddhi, UP Chief Secretary DS Mishra said, “There was a time when people used to go to a few select states for investment or setting up industries and ignore UP. However, we studied the policies of those fortunate states and incorporated their best parts in the policies of Uttar Pradesh. We discussed with industries and investors before finally drafting the policies.” He added, “Today, we have introduced 25 policies in the industrial and investment sector as a result of which there is substantial rise in new projects.’

He said the chief minister is more concerned about the ease of doing business. To ensure ease of doing business, UP has made conducive policies, and on the basis of this, it has been inviting investors from around the world.

Giving details about the progress of UP on the infrastructure front, Mishra said that the government is making adequate investment on the Rapid Rail Transit System (RRTS) between Delhi and Meerut. Very soon its first phase from Sahibabad to Duhai will become operational. He said that the first national waterway from Haldia in Bengal to Varanasi will become functional soon. Around 50 per cent of the East-West freight corridor will cross through UP and the government is facilitating it. This corridor will be of great help to the people and traders of UP.

Mishra termed the fast progress of UP in the construction of expressways as a big achievement. He said that it has brought investment and given employment in the remote areas of the state. Today, the investors are going to the backward regions of eastern UP and this is only possible due to the construction of Purvanchal Expressway. Factories are being set up in Bundelkhand only because of the expressway there.

Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are the backbone of any economy, and without strengthening them, there could be no economic development. Like other states, the MSMEs in UP also have been facing challenges. However, during the panel discussion on the ‘Role of MSMEs in the trillion-dollar economy of UP’, officials and entrepreneurs accepted that the state government is trying to remove hurdles with clear intentions.

(From left): Rahees Singh, Media Advisor to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, D S Mishra, Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh,
L K Jhunjhunwala, Chairman, KM Sugar Mills, and Nitin Ramesh Gokarn, Principal Secretary, Housing, Uttar Pradesh,
participate in a discussion on infrastructure development at the Business Standard Samriddhi event in Lucknow

The advisor to CM and former IAS officer Awanish Kumar Awasthi said that while assuming his office in 2017, the chief minister had listed out his four priorities — Law and order, use of technology, skills development and one district one product (ODOP).

He said that the first task was to improve the law and order situation in the state. He added, “The big industrialists are capable enough to safeguard their establishments but the real problem is being faced by the small ones.” He said that now everyone can see the strict and orderly situation in UP, which was never seen before. In his second tenure, the chief minister made this stricter, and as a result, investment is pouring in.

Awasthi said that the Prime Minister prefers the use of technology and even chief minister Yogi is facilitating it. With the use of technology, the MSMEs are being given the benefits of stand-up policy, single-window clearance, land allotment and other things. With skills development as the top priority of the CM, Awasthi said that youths across the state are being trained and now the industry is getting skilled people for employment.

Listing out the benefits of ODOP, he cited the example of the brass industry in Moradabad and silk business in Varanasi, which have grown by 25 per cent, more due to this scheme.

Chief general manager (CGM) of State bank of India (SBI), Sharad S Chandak, while speaking at the Samriddhi programme, said small and medium enterprises have been an integral part of the Uttar Pradesh economy and generates maximum number of jobs after agriculture. SBI has around 2,200 branches in all the 75 districts of UP, and of these, 100 are for the MSMEs.

Through its relationship managers, SBI has been handling the issues related to MSMEs and removing their problems. He said that in February-March 2023, SBI had organised special camps for disbursing loans under the Mudra, Pradhan Mantri Swanidhi Yojana and many other schemes. Through these camps, SBI has disbursed loans to the tune of around Rs 100 crore in just one month. Deputy managing director of SIDBI, Sivasubramanian Ramann, said during the discussions, that keeping in mind the ease of doing business for MSMEs, the process of application to loan disbursal has been made digital. This helps the entrepreneurs in getting loans while sitting in their offices, instead of making rounds. He said that Sidbi has set a target of refinancing Rs 8 trillion till 2027.

From the platform of Samriddhi, the representatives of MSMEs apprised the government about their problems. Noted hosiery manufacturer and chairman of Jet Knitwears Balram Narula praised the schemes of the government but complained about its implementation. He said that the government’s schemes of providing loans to MSMEs without collateral are good but banks are suspicious about such creditors and they try to avoid them.

Puran Dawar of Dawar Footwear appealed to the government to make ODOP more effective. He requested the state government to become more active in providing financial assistance to the MSMEs.

Managing director of KM Sugar Mills, LK Jhunjhunwala praised the government for making electricity supply better but at the same time expressed concern over the high rates. He asked the government to work on promotion of solar energy.

A glance at Uttar Pradesh
 

State with 3rd largest economy  

Contributes 8% to India's GDP

The state has 8 airports 

3 International (Lucknow, Varanasi, Kushinagar)

5 Domestic (Agra, Bareilly, Gorakhpur, Prayagraj, and Kanpur)

Asia's largest airport is under construction in Jewar, near Noida
 

India's first inland waterway is between Varanasi and Haldia

Varanasi has the country's first multi-model terminal

UP has 37% of India's total expressway network

302 km long Agra-Lucknow expressway is one of the longest expressways in the country

603 km long Ganga expressway and 343 km long Purvanchal expressway are under construction 
 

At 4 lakh km, it has the longest road network in the country 

It has the country's second-longest National Highway with a length of 11,737 km

57% of Amritsar-Kolkata industrial corridor is in Uttar Pradesh

Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor also passes through the state 

UP has most part of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor

India has only two defence corridors, one of which is in UP